Thursday, 3 August 2017

One pot pasta with beans and tomato sauce

Work is busy. Night falls quickly. I need meals that are fast and satisfying. Something I can throw in the pot and cook quickly. Preferably with leftovers. And something my 8 year old will eat. This one pot pasta ticked all the boxes. If only I could also take photos to do it justice.

The top photo was quickly snapped the following morning before work to snatch some natural light. Because I really loved this pasta. It has more protein and more tomato sauce than the last one pot pasta I made. And it has some flexibility in using up what is in the fridge. Just the dish we needed after swimming lessons.

The stew saw us through three nights of dinner, with Sylvia having small bowls of it each night. Tonight I rode home from work in the rain and knowing I had dinner waiting at home cheered me up. Though even though it was cold and wet, I quite enjoyed the dark streetscapes with mist around the lights and the rain dripping off the edges of buildings. It all felt a bit film noir. Which makes it all the more the sweeter to arrive home to a cosy warm bright home with this hot pasta dish waiting on the table to eat with my family.

Place pasta in a large saucepan. If it needs to be broken up to fit
that is fine. Place remaining ingredients in the pot finishing with the water. Check and adjust seasoning. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the spaghetti sticking to the bottom. Take off the lid and cook on medium-high for another 2-3 minutes with lots of stirring to boil off a
little bit more liquid but not all as it will thicken to make a tomato
sauce. Serve hot. Leftovers are good to serve the next day.

NOTES: If I made this pasta and did not have pesto on hand I would use a bit of stock powder and mixed Italian herbs instead. Other beans or vegetables could be used here such as chickpeas, kidney beans, kale, mushrooms and broccoli. Vegetables can be added later if they need less cooking. The pasta is a little drier when it has sat overnight but as on the night of making it had quite a bit of sauce this was fine and it made for very good leftovers. I found the onion still to be so slightly crunchy even with chopping it finely.

On the Stereo: Easy listening: relaxed exotica and space age pop: Various Artists

10 comments:

One pot pasta has been on my list to make, but have not got round to it yet. I may try and give this a go next week as I do have lots of courgettes. My afterwork quick dishes are often pasta too, namely Arrabiata and vegan puttanesca. You say this dish served you for 3 nights, how did you reheat it? Sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but we never have any left over to reheat. Thanks in advance.

Hi shaheen - we heat our leftovers in a microwave. I am sure you could do it on a stovetop over gentle heat but you might need a little dribble of water as it dries out slightly overnight anyway. I am amazed you don't heat leftovers - we do it all the time because it is the way I cope with dinners on work nights. However I am sure you are more organised than me in the evening.

Ingenious - I never thought of cooking the veggies and pasta together. How daft am I?! I've got a busy week coming up, so I predict it won't be long til I'm making that after my own rainy journey home. Also, I've just made some (vegan) pesto, so it's clearly meant to be!

"Tonight I rode home from work in the rain" Yuck. I have a feeling when rainy season hits I will try to steal the car from my husband on the rainy days. You're much braver than I am.This one pot looks delicious. I'll save this recipe for fall which is quickly approaching!

I love the idea of a one-pot pasta, but I am not sure it would work with GF pasta, which takes shorter to cook and then completely falls apart if a second too long in the cooker! Oh well..... I can look at yours and drool xx

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.